Fight the Virus with Central Government's Full Support
Hong Kong will provide free coronavirus tests for its 7.5 million residents taken on a voluntary basis starting in two weeks’ time in collaboration with the central government, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced on Friday, as the city has been hit by a third wave of coronavirus cases.
Under the universal testing plan, each resident will be able to take one free testing voluntarily, Lam said at a press conference.
The COVID-19 epidemic situation in Hong Kong is still severe, as the number of confirmed cases in July witnessed a sharp increase, while the sources of 40 percent of the cases remain unknown, Lam said.
The city reported 89 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, dropping below 100 since the start of August.
But Lam warned that Hong Kong may still face a coronavirus rebound in the winter, and there is a need to improve the testing capacity and build more treatment centers.
Lam’s announcement came after the central government’s decision to send two teams to the city to help curb the coronavirus epidemic. Lam said one team of 60 members has already arrived to increase the city’s COVID-19 testing capacity and another team will soon arrive to build the makeshift fangcang hospital.
Three Chinese mainland-linked laboratories – BGI, Kingmed and Hong Kong Molecular – will help the city improve its testing capacity, and a Fire Eye lab for COVID-19 testing will be built at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park, according to Lam.
Addressing privacy concerns, Lam said the universal citywide coronavirus tests in Hong Kong will ensure the protection of personal data, as the labs will not be given any personal information apart from that needed for the test.
Observers and medical experts in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland have slammed rumors that the DNA of Hong Kong residents could be given to the Chinese mainland, saying that the rumormongers are putting politics ahead of lives.
The announcement on Friday came after mounting calls in Hong Kong to invite specialists from the Chinese mainland to help the city conduct citywide testing.
Hung Kam-in, a member of the Kwun Tong District Council in Hong Kong and a community volunteer, told the Global Times on Friday that residents in his community hailed the testing plan because they believe the citywide testing could help identify silent carriers.